What I have learned…

For many, this week is a homecoming, a return to alma mater, and a time for (enhanced) reflection. I was privileged to have a great educational experience. I am privileged. Period. And I never take that for granted. I have leaned a lot but as I come home and I reflect, here’s what I conclude that I have leaned. Three things…

All people are decent! Despite the hate in this world and all the nasty things that people do to each other, deep inside, at the core, people are decent. To see people any other way serves no purpose. Assume that we are all essentially good even though our actions sometimes suggest otherwise. In the long run, our behaviours at least approach decency, and given enough time we will all get there.

The truth must be told! Although ‘truth’ in the sense of knowledge and science is sometimes hard to know, at least the moral truth is always evident. You can’t hide from it. You need to seek it. There is no point in lying. You may get away with it for a while but it will gradually eat you up inside. You might justify not telling the truth to protect other people. But they can take it. And they’ll forgive you. After all, they’re decent.

Fear is what holds us back! Take a look at anyone with a disability or anyone who has ‘overcome the odds’ and you’ll see someone who has embraced fear. People who are considered as gifted or ‘natural,’ at one time overcame a fear of not meeting rising expectations. If you’re honest with yourself about what you want, big or small, and if you’re not achieving it, you’re probably just afraid. Reaching goals requires that you overcome fear. Get out of your comfort zone and just do what you truly want. If you fail, and you admit it, people will support you. After all they’re decent.

My alma mater has always been a place of learning for me. As I walk around campus, 35 years after being graduated, and ask myself what I have learned, the answer is not in the text books. At least not the business ones. Supply and demand, fiscal policy, sensitivity analysis, cost allocation, debits and credits, strategic frameworks, bla bla bla are all important but they’re not the stuff of life.

Thirty five years on, what I have learned is: All people are decent; the truth must be told; and fear is what holds us back! Now, where was I? Oh yes, I need another drink. Cheers!